SAIL follow-on share sale likely to start on 14 June
17 May 2011
Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) the country's top steelmaker, proposes to launch its follow-on share sale to raise around Rs8,000 crore ($1.8 billion) by 14 June, its chairman has said.
The board of directors of the state-run steel maker is expected to finalise the draft prospectus for the FPO early next week, a news agency report quoting SAIL chairman C S Verma said.
The report said the board would meet on 23 May to finalise the prospectus and the issue scheduled.
Under the planned share sale, which has been long delayed, the government will sell 5 per cent in SAIL while the steelmaker will issue new shares amounting to 5 per cent f its current capital.
The issue, which is expected to raise up to $1.8 billion, is part of the government's plan to raise and Rs40,000 crore through sale of stakes in around 60 state undertakings over the next few years.
The government expects the mop-up to help reduce its bulging fiscal deficit as also to meet funding requirements of some of its social welfare programmes.